July is UV Safety Month

July is UV Safety Month, and the perfect time to brush up on your skin protection knowledge.  With so many research studies releasing new information and so many skin care products on the market, it is no wonder that most people don’t understand the basics of the sun’s impact on our skin.  Before you escape to your sunny destination of choice this summer, make sure you know why and how to best protect your family from damaging sun exposure.

UVA vs. UVB

We have all heard the terms “UVA” and “UVB” rays before, but what do they really mean?  To put it in simple terms, ultraviolet radiation is the part of the light spectrum that reaches Earth from the sun, but its wavelengths are so short that it is invisible to the human eye.  Of the ultraviolet wavelengths, UVA is the longest, followed by UVB.  Both UVA and UVB penetrate Earth’s atmosphere and can cause premature aging of the skin, skin cancer, and even eye damage.Many people believe that UVB rays are the only rays that cause damage.  While UVB rays are more intense, UVA rays are actually 30 to 50 times more common, and account for 95% of the radiation that reaches Earth.  Beyond that, UVA rays penetrate human skin more deeply, cause skin to age and wrinkle prematurely, and recent research shows they also may contribute to skin cancer.  UVB rays, on the other hand, are considered the main cause of sunburn and have long been known to play a key role in the development of skin cancer.